Confused by Hovabator Humidity!!

[JScatt69]

Hello!
I am using a hovabator 1602n with fan and am confused by whats going on with my humidity.
If I run it with no water my level is about 20%, if I add the slightest amount of water to bring it up it jumps to over 55%.
What gives? Room humidity is about 50%. It holds perfect temps. Thanks!

J

 

[latebloomer]

i'm using the same set-up except my humidity levels in the house are quite a bit lower.

are you in the first 18 days?

what i've interpreted from reading a number of these posts is that the humidity during the first eighteen days isn't nearly as important as it is during lockdown.

you may need to add some saturated sponges to get up above 55%

 

[JScatt69]

I guessed I shoulda mentioned that I am only on day 5

 

[latebloomer]

i stayed in the fifties up until lockdown

what are you doing with the red vent plugs?

 

[JScatt69]

Quote:
I was leaving them in but I just took one out to see what it does

 

[latebloomer]

if my humidity goes higher than i want it to be
and i don't want to open the incubator, i take one or both out.

 

[madrooster]

hey alright,hova budys i just launched yesterday evening ,hova was holding at 101.5 for 24hrs,i set my eggs and everyhting went nuts humidity spiked and temp went down ,adlusted fro about 3 hrs and got it to 100.5 about 2:00 this mornin and when i got up at 6:00 it was at 106 ahhhhhhhh.adjusted agin and now back at 100.5 my humidity is holding at 43% with a !/4 of the center tray full of warm water added.i have my electronic flugers thermo/hygro on the right side on top of some eggs. my eggs are in a rectangle shape pattern with the center open abouta five in square . i have 28 eggs in the hova 1620n no fan thow im trying to keep the temp areond 101 because of no fan ,this is correct right? any help or suggestions would be great. o ya i have blue jesey giant and blacks in there also some lavender and blue orps with a couple watcha ma callits or ? just for fun.

 

[madrooster]

o ya and both my red plugs are in

 

[latebloomer]

Quote:
i believe you're right about the temperature of 101 if you don't have a fan.

a few days in i ended up moving the location of my incubator because i was having trouble keeping the temperature up. moved it to a place with less drafts and it did better, added the fan, and it did better still.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I found it easier with the 1602 to control humidity with water in a cup and not in the troughs. By varying the diameter of the glass you can control how high the humidity stays. Plus the glass and warm water act as a heat sink for the bator as a whole. I have used both glass and plastic cups. Both have worked well.

I am currently using a 1588 and run it with humidity around 35% until day 18. I then up it to 50-60%. That has worked well in my area. When I ran humidities in the 70-80% range for lockdown I had problems with chicks drowning in the shell. Do a search on here for "dry incubation" and see what you think.